Just what is Porthcawl Civic Trust?

The Porthcawl Civic Trust Society was formed in 1970 at a packed meeting of residents of Porthcawl in the Grand Pavilion at which Wynford Vaughan Thomas was the principle speaker.

The meeting was inspired by a proposal to extend the Trecco Bay Caravan park into Newton Burrows in order to accommodate another 1039 caravans.

Those attending the meeting agreed that the society must be formed to oppose this proposal and after 20 years of campaigning, Trust House Forte, the then owners of the 50 acres of Newton Burrows, agreed to transfer all but five acres to Glamorgan County Council in exchange for planning consent for housing on that area of land.

Newton Burrows remains to this day a Public Open Space.

Since then The Porthcawl Civic Trust Society, which now has over 400 paid up members, has been involved in many campaigns. In 1991 it persuaded the Welsh Government’s Cadw department to give Grade ll listing to the Jennings Building which was under the threat of destruction by would-be developers.

It pressed for the subsequent listing of the lighthouse, the Customs House and the Grand Pavilion. It has also fought attempts by Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) to demolish the Harlequin Building in order to provide six extra car parking spaces.

Cadw supported the society’s case and BCBC has now agreed to restore this building and to bring it back into use.

The society opposed BCBC’s original plan to close the Portway access road to the Esplanade, a proposal now withdrawn, and supported the council’s bid for a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant by producing a report which covered the history of town’s early residential area and the old inner and outer docks.

The successful bid enabled BCBC to support the restoration of the Jennings Warehouse A further report detailing the commercial and recreational history of the town is currently being prepared.

More recently, the society has informed residents living in the Dan-y-Graig area of the town of two plans being considered by BCBC.

The first relates to the building of 190 houses at the end of Dan-y-Graig Avenue and the second relates to a proposal to change local footpaths into bridleways.

The society is aware that a few people (believed to be equestrians) have expressed concern about the society’s involvement in the second of these two proposals but, overall, the feedback has been positive and the society has gained 14 new members as a result of its involvement.

All residents of Porthcawl are welcome to join the society and application forms can be downloaded from the society’s website, porthcawlcivictrustsociety.co.uk, or obtained by telephoning the membership secretary, Marilyn Smith, on 01656 782999.